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Where there was once one squash, there’s now two! These beautiful butternut squash plants are crawling around the garden floor. Underneath their large green leaves, hide these new little treasures. The flower of the butternut squash is just as beautiful as the fruit!

The Luther Burbank Middle School garden is in full bloom. Early this morning, birds, butterflies, bees and a slew of insects filled the space. Months ago, when we were nervous about morning frost we ventured out and planted potatoes, garlic, onions, kale and chard. This week we enjoyed the fruits of our labor. After harvesting…

The plants at Markham Farm seem to be enjoying the warmer weather. There are signs of new and tasty edibles in the future! Check out this young butternut squash. In some countries, young squash like the one below are considered a delicacy. The native area is full of many vibrant colors that are sure to…

The students at Atwater Elementary made heart-shaped seed bombs for Mother’s Day, made from old newspaper and other scrap paper. Each student got to make a heart filled with carrot seeds for their moms. It was a fun activity and as one of the teacher’s pointed out, the hearts are symbolic of our love for…

Green Mother’s Day Gifts What are some ways to be Green on Mother’s Day? Start by giving handmade, local, organic, Fair Trade, and eco-friendly gifts. Choose organic local flowers. Most flowers are mainly grown in other countries that use harmful chemicals and pesticides. Who wants to bring that into their home? Green Mother’s Day Gift…

Even on this rainy day, students at Luther Burbank Middle School got their hands dirty. This time it wasn’t because of the soil, it was from pastels, ink pads, markers and crayons. Check out the great signs they made. Using a projector, students looked at images of the fruits, vegetables and herbs growing in the…

LA River Cleanup Day is Saturday 5/18 Click here for info: Friends of the LA River Happy Arbor Day! Arbor Day is a nationally-celebrated observance that encourages tree planting and care. Founded by J. Sterling Morton in 1872, it’s celebrated on the last Friday in April. So, go plant a tree! http://www.arborday.org/arborday/ Digest powered by…

One of ourvery dedicated volunteers, Hanna helped out in the Roosevelt High School garden today. It was a productive day- we tilled, amended, watered, weeded and transplanted, all in just an hour! After the soil was prepared, Hanna transplanted eggplant seedlings. What a delicious summer it will be! Thanks Hanna!  

Since students at LBMS were busy taking the CST this week, some volunteers spent time weeding and harvesting in the garden. One stellar volunteer, Sonja joins the Burbank Bears in the garden every week. We definitely needed to harvest some artichokes, so here she is finding her way to the edible part of the plant….

It’s that time of year again at Markham where tons of little weeds sprout up and compete with our veggies for nutrients, sun, and waters. Good thing we have lots of eager volunteers at Markham who just pulling them out! After the hard work we enjoyed a snack of potato salad wrapped up in tart…

Yesterday morning students spent time in the Luther Burbank garden, exploring the wonderful changes that happened over the past two weeks. Two students spotted this beautiful artichoke. If we wait a week, it might be just big enough for all of us to share.   Three other students were curious about the green leaves that…

Where would we be without the generosity of others? The Farm King garden volunteer staff would like to thank the good and giving people at Sylmar High School who donated the transplants we will soon plant in the garden. These transplants will become the means by which Thomas Starr King middle schoolers learn (and reap) [...]

We’ve recently started a bit of a Saturday gardening club at Markham Middle School. This is a great opportunity for students to spend their Saturday mornings and to continue their engagement with their school garden. Every weekend new faces join in and from time to time we have some parents help out too. We’re hoping…

Earth Day Events in Los Angeles 2013 Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s natural environment. To find events in your area, go to:http://www.earthday.org/2013/ Aquarium of the Pacific Saturday & Sunday, April 13-14 100 Aquarium Way Long Beach, CA 90802 www.aquariumofpacific.org Learn what you can do…

Earth Day Events in Los Angeles 2013 Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s natural environment. To find events in your area, go to:http://www.earthday.org/2013/ Aquarium of the Pacific Saturday & Sunday, April 13-14 100 Aquarium Way Long Beach, CA 90802 www.aquariumofpacific.org Learn what you can do…

Today, a handful of wonderful volunteers from Next Step Ministries helped transform the garden at Roosevelt High School Academy for Environmental and Social Policy. The initial work involved lots of weed removal. The fruit trees surrounding the garden were getting smothered by pesky grass so we had to get them outta there! Just before lunch,…

On Friday students in Mr. Carrasco’s class cooked up some potatoes and leafy greens from the garden. They learned about and used a new spice called Allepo Pepper. This spice served as a social-science lesson for students because it is imported from Syria. Due to recent conflict and unrest in the country, it’s no wonder…

Students at Atwater recently learned about the edible parts of different plants, followed by some garden exploration to find what could be eaten from the Atwater garden.

We joined a Plug Mob hosted by Mud Baron this past Saturday and came to school on Monday with some lovely plugs, ready to be transplanted into bigger containers. The students were excited to see these tiny plants, imagining all the great things they’ll do once they get planted in the soil here at Markham.

In partnership with the Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa and Gay for Good and others, we seek to create a habitat encompassing 12,000 square feet of campus: The land was formerly under bungalows and covered with asphalt. SCHEDULED DATE = MAY 18, 2013 HARVEY MILK DAY Our goal is to create a schoolyard habitat…

Earth Hour is 03/23/13 at 8:30pm Earth Hour is about collective impact, beyond the hour. Earth Hour has now become much more than a symbolic action. It has evolved into a continuous movement driving real actions, big and small, that are changing the world we live in. Uniting people to protect the planet. Earth Hour…

March has turned out to be quite a wonderful month for harvesting at Luther Burbank Middle School. Last week students picked an artichoke. Since you can’t eat this thistle raw, I took it home, steamed it and brought it back to class on Monday. 7th grade students in Ms. Burn’s class were intrigued by the…

Mr. Grasshopper!

Did you know that Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour?! That’s a lot of waste! This week Mr. Eagler’s class tackled the plastic bottle overload problem by converting  water bottles headed for the trash into lovely flowers vases. It’s called upcyling. Upcycling is the process of converting waste into new materials or [...]

Turn post-consumer jars into useful, non-toxic drinking containers. I got these EcoJarz drink tops for my mason jars and I love them. My stainless steel straws fit in them perfectly, although my glass straws don’t fit. They are great for when you’re on the go and great for kids, too. Check them out! Snippet from…

THE HABITAT AT EL SERENO MIDDLE SCHOOL In partnership with the Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa and Gay for Good and others, we seek to create a habitat encompassing 12,000 square feet of campus: The land was formerly under bungalows and covered with asphalt. SCHEDULED DATE = MAY 18, 2013 HARVEY MILK DAY Our…

The best thing you can make from a bursting garden is a big, beautiful salad! And that is what we did this week. It was fantastic. We had a great turn out, with lots of kids clamoring to help make our harvest in to something delicious. The kids gathered up what was on hand and we put [...]

The planting continued at Luther Burbank Middle School this week. Some of the middle schoolers were keen on growing potatoes in their school garden. Although none of us were experts we decided to give it a go. We went with Yukon Gold and Baby Red potatoes. After we dug the trench and planted the potato…

What makes cooking in the Farm King Garden so great is that we never know what is going to happen. We are only there once a week, (on Tuesdays! Come join us!)  and when we show up we only sort of have an idea about what’s going to be ready to harvest. Will the broccoli [...]